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The Bastion
The Bastion was a public college and military academy before the Great War. It was known for its difficult first year which was meant to degrade an individual to the point where the following three years would rebuild and manufacture the so-called "Whole Man." It was an institution of tradition cut short by the rad storms and missile strikes of the Great War. She had served her country and now sat silently as Charleston around her burned. However, she would not remain forever silent as she was reclaimed in the May of 2165 by Marcus Clay and Thomas McLachin. They would establish a settlement which bore the name of the old school and establish a faction known as the Brigadiers. History The Bastion was originally established in 1842 after having been a garrison for the Washington Light Infantry, who were purposed with protecting the city of Charleston in the event of a slave uprising. The Bastion would accept Cadets into its ranks from among the "poorest" of Charleston's people. They would be educated by professors and serve as a ready-militia of trained officers. The Citadel would be closed in 1865 when then the city of Charleston was occupied by Union forces. It would not be reopened until 1882 and would move to its current location in 1922. Pre-War The Bastion held a special place in the heart of Charleston and the South itself. It held within its hallowed halls the spirit of the proud Southerner and a spirit of tradition which mixed and mingled. It was a prideful institution of what few could say and a rare few alumni could articulate. Honour, Duty, and Respect were her guiding words and she did her duty to produce men and women of such character that would reflect those words. As tensions with China rose, so too did demand for her singular product. The Bastion Cadet was coveted in the same vein as the Cadets of West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy. In cooperation with her mother country, the Bastion would expand to accommodate more Cadets and to better prepare them for their future service. Soon, the Bastion would receive an offer that could not be refused. The US Army wanted an exclusive contract with the Bastion. The terms of this contract would see Bastion cadets immediately thrust into the service of the US Army upon their graduation. The most coveted desire of the US Army was the simplest and most valuable of officer, the Infantry Officer. The Bastion would accept this deal and within four years the first class of all army cadets would enter the service. This class was dubbed the "All-American Class." This class was unique among service academies for a number of reasons. Following their contracting with the US Army, the college shifted from the carrying of disabled weapons in parade to operational firearms. The justification was simple in doing so, every Cadet would now be required to qualify and continue to qualify with their rifles over their four years at the college. Cadets would be taught proper rifle discipline and aside from a few isolated incidents, this program would prove very successful. In the Summer of 2071, the college would be bestowed a unique honor. The US Army would bestow the Bastion with a suit of T-45 power armor for use in the college's parade procedures. This was done in honor of the selfless actions of Bastion Cadets during the Battle of Anchorage. The college would prize this piece of equipment and it would be worn in parade by the Cadet with the highest standing in the Corps. Following the beginning of the Great War, Bastion Cadets would do exactly as they had been ordered. They would secure all arms on campus into the underground armory. They would lock themselves underground in wait of relief from the US Army. The relief would never come as the Cadets locked underground succumb to radiation or were transformed into ghouls. Pre-Brigadiers After the Great War, the Bastion would be abandoned by the people of the Wasteland with stories of the underground weapons cache slowly fading into rumours and then legend. Many attempts would be made to locate the stockpile by scavengers before being driven away by wasteland creatures or even raiders hoping to get a cut of the prize. Another source of visitors to the post-war site would be surviving alumni, students, and other people who bore some association with the college before the war. Many would attempt to rebuild in some capacity but would instead be drawn into surrounding settlements when the Bastion proved too hostile and too easy of a target for raiders. Many would not complete their journies, settling with the Gullah tribes or somewhere along the way to Charleston. Many more would die or simply fade into obscurity. Even now, it's possible to see where they've laid their tracks through the rings they bore. Golden Bastion Bands scattered through the wasteland as family heirlooms, antique collectables, or gold junk to the uninitiated. Formation of the Brigadiers It is possible that the Bastion would have remained a landmark of Charleston and nothing more for the next one hundred years had the so-called "Charleston Expedition" never been launched. With the culmination of the expedition being the formation of the Brigadiers by Thomas McLachin and Marcus Clay out of the Scavengers and volunteers from nearby settlements, such as King Street. Following their formation and defeat of Sky's Rangers, the site's population would skyrocket. Old buildings would be redeveloped and new ones constructed as the Bastion became the centre point of the strategy devised by McLachin and Clay to form a force which could eventually reclaim the Charleston Wasteland. The newly fortified and expanded Bastion would become a nightmare for the Charleston Raiders as its large size, support of local settlements, and fortified buildings would require nothing short of a proper military force to crack. And while some raiders in North Charleston could muster that force, it would have been too late as squabbles with other gangs would weaken them substantially. This would cement the Bastion as the most important location in the politics of the Charleston Wasteland for many decades to come. Category:South Carolina Category:Places